Acts of Violet

A Novel

By: Margarita Montimore

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Amy McFadden, Dan Bittner, Fred Berman, Hillary Huber, Johnny Heller, Katharine Chin, Ramon de Ocampo, Suzanne Toren, Alejandro Antonio Ruiz

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

2022 Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, Long-listed
2022 Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, Long-listed

"A multicast presentation of a novel with this many disparate narrative elements could easily become chaotic, so it is testament to the narrators’ talents and Montimore’s brilliant plot structure, compelling characters, and sharp, often hilarious prose that listeners are instead treated to an absolutely delightful audiobook, essential for all contemporary fiction collections."- Library Journal

This program features unique sound design and is read by a multicast that brilliantly weaves together the narrative elements, the podcast episodes, and the documents within the story.

From Margarita Montimore, the author of GMA Book Club pick and national bestseller Oona Out of Order, Acts of Violet is a dazzling and twisty new novel about a famous magician who disappears, leaving her sister to figure out what really happened.

Nearly a decade ago, iconic magician Violet Volk performed her greatest trick yet: vanishing mid-act. Though she hasn’t been seen since, her hold on the public hasn’t wavered. While Violet sought out the spotlight, her sister Sasha, ever the responsible one, took over their mother’s salon and built a quiet life for her daughter, Quinn. But Sasha can never seem to escape her sister’s orbit or her memories of their unresolved, tumultuous relationship. Then there’s Cameron Frank, determined to finally get his big break hosting a podcast devoted to all things Violet—though keeping his job hinges on an exclusive interview with Sasha, the last person who wants to talk to him.

As the ten-year anniversary approaches, the podcast picks up steam, and Cameron’s pursuit of Sasha becomes increasingly intrusive. He isn’t the only one wondering what secrets she might be keeping: Quinn, loyal to the aunt she always idolized, is doing her own investigating. Meanwhile, Sasha begins to experience an unsettling series of sleepwalking episodes and coincidences, which all lead back to Violet. Pushed to her emotional limits, Sasha must finally confront the most painful truths about her sister, and herself, even at the risk of losing everything.

Alternating between Sasha’s narration and Cameron’s podcast transcripts, interspersed with documents that offer a tantalizing peek at Violet herself, Acts of Violet is an utterly original, propulsive story of fame, deception, and forgiveness that will make you believe in magic.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

©2022 Margarita Montimore (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

It was Ok

Ok story but the plot has been done before. Too long and drawn out. Could have been crisper.

Good story, blah ending

I enjoyed the story telling. It had good mystery and character development. But I felt the ending left me with a lot of unanswered questions. I was hoping for a dramatic comeback story but it just sort of…ended.

Not sure I'd have loved it as much in print

You MUST take this book in in audio format! It was so stinking good with multiple narrators, sound effects, music, etc. Absolutely incredible and I was along for the wild ride from first chapter to last!

Loved this story.

I really loved this. I found it delightful, exciting and I absolutely adored the references to highlights of my teenage years (black Mary Jane’s the Jim Rose circus - so many little Easter eggs for me). I definitely didn’t know what to expect going in and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Love this Author

Oona was better but this was great too. All the characters feel real. Sasha is so annoying though, can anyone overthink more than this lady. The feminism parts are as shallow and one sided as you would imagine.

Unique storyline idea

Loved the interesting storyline idea and format. I didn't love the execution. It seemed lackluster and anticlimactic. Too many questions left unanswered. I also didn't develop a connection to the characters, which is something I need for full buy-in & engagement in the story. Still, it was a unique idea and was entertaining.
The performances were just so-so.

Hard to get going, but hooked by the end

I almost didn’t keep going with this one. It was a rough start, but by the end, I was sad it was over. Great storylines and good performance.

It's okay

Thoughtfully performed but not crazy about the story. Unlikable main characters made it hard to care what happened to them. .

Excellent performance

One of best productions of a book I listened to, but left wondering quite a bit about the plot. Also difficult to connect with the characters too.

Acts of Violet took a while

I ended up enjoying the book but it didn’t keep my attention for a while. I also found it challenging to keep track all the different characters until later in the book. In the end, I like how things came together.